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CITY COUNCIL CITY OF

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TRANSCRIPT OF THE MINUTES

of the

STATED MEETING

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January 23, 2020 Start: 1:17 p.m. Recess: 3:43 p.m.

HELD AT: Council Chambers - City Hall

B E F O R E: Corey Johnson Speaker

COUNCIL MEMBERS: Adrienne E. Adams Alicka Ampry-Samuel Inez D. Barron Joseph C. Borelli Fernando Cabrera Margaret S. Chin Robert E. Cornegy, Jr. Laurie A. Cumbo Chaim M. Deutsch Ruben Diaz, Sr. Rafael L. Espinal, Jr. Vanessa L. Gibson Robert Holden

World Wide Dictation 545 Saw Mill River Road – Suite 2C, Ardsley, NY 10502 Phone: 914-964-8500 * 800-442-5993 * Fax: 914-964-8470 www.WorldWideDictation.com

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Ben Kallos Andy King Rory I. Lancman Stephen T. Levin Mark Levine Alan N. Maisel I. Bill Perkins Keith Powers Donovan J. Richards Ydanis Rodriguez Deborah Rose Helen K. Rosenthal , Jr. Ritchie J. Torres Eric A. Ulrich

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A P P E A R A N C E S (CONTINUED)

STATED MEETING 4 1

2 OWEN KATOWSKI: Today is January 23,

3 2020. This the Stated Meeting. We're in the City d 4 Council Chambers, and this is Owen Katowski.

5 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: This is Clibourne,

6 burn.

7 UNIDENTIFIED: Clibourne.

8 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Ahuh,

9 [inaudible], OK. Now it's Blakeley?

10 UNIDENTIFIED: Yes, Blakeley.

11 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: OK. Hello, hello

12 everyone, good afternoon and welcome to the New York

13 City Council. I am Majority Leader and

14 we are now going to begin the honor of our

15 proclamation ceremony. Will all members that are

16 present please come forward. We have two living

17 legends and celebrities in our midst today. We often

18 talk about and celebrate our actors, our musicians,

19 but today we have the real celebrities, the true

20 heroes of our country, and I couldn't be more proud

21 to have them both here today. I'm so proud that all

22 of my colleagues are here because this is really what

23 America and New York is really about. Today we

24 celebrate the life of a true American hero. Reverend

25 James E. Blakely was born on January 8, 1920 in

1 STATED MEETING 5

2 Arkansas and listed, and enlisted in the United

3 States Navy in September 1939. During the Pearl

4 Harbor attacks he was stationed abroad to the USS St.

5 Louis. And when we heard and he heard of what was

6 happening in Pearl Harbor he immediately sprung. Now

7 many people, when they get that call, your heart is

8 in many different places. But he answered that call

9 with such bravery, tenacity, and courage that we

10 recognize and honor that today. But on top of that

11 he has also seen in his lifetime 100 years. So let's

12 give it up for 100 years of life. [applause] It is

13 not only a blessing, but a great honor. During World

14 War II Reverend Blakely served aboard the USS

15 President Jackson in major combat operations in the

16 Pacific Theater, including the battles of

17 Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and Marshall Islands and Guam,

18 helping to transport troops to the battlefield and

19 evacuate the dead and the wounded. He served in the

20 US Navy until his honorable discharge in 1945, where

21 he began a new life here in New York City. He

22 resided in my district in Fort Greene, for

23 many years. I understand that you do not live in my

24 district, but you moved before I became a City

25 Council member and I know you would have remained if

1 STATED MEETING 6

2 you knew I was the member. Reverend Blakely has had

3 the pleasure of sharing his stories for the last 75

4 years, continuing to inspire generations of our youth

5 with his amazing story. His perseverance and

6 determination speaks to the quality of his character.

7 We thank you for all that you do. We are honored to

8 share this incredible milestone with you. I also

9 want to honor at this special time, and we are so

10 fortunate, when we announced that this was happening

11 we found out about yet another Pearl Harbor veteran,

12 Clibourne Sowell, and he is happy to celebrate his

13 96th birthday with us here today. [applause] And

14 what a blessing it is that we have reunited these two

15 powerful, courageous and brave men here at the City

16 Council. We recognize the sacrifice that you have

17 made for our country. We are so proud, and we are

18 going to have to come back and present you with a

19 proclamation at a later date. We apologize that we

20 didn't find out about your incredible story. But

21 hopefully this will bring forward more Pearl Harbor

22 veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country.

23 So we will now turn it over. Today we are going to

24 have, ah, the proclamation read onto the record.

25

1 STATED MEETING 7

2 COMMITTEE CLERK: Council City of New

3 York Proclamation. The is

4 proud to celebrate the 100th birthday of Reverend

5 James E. Blakely, one of the last surviving African

6 American veterans of World War II and the attack on

7 Pearl Harbor. And whereas James E. Blakely was born

8 on January 8, 1920, in Arkansas and enlisted in the

9 United States Navy in September 1939, on the morning

10 of December 7, 1941, he was stationed aboard the USS

11 St. Louis in Pearl Harbor when the call to battle

12 stations blared. The Japanese had launched a

13 surprise attack. Awoken by the all hands on deck

14 order, he began running ammunition to anti-aircraft

15 guns. Thanks to the courageous work of Reverend

16 Blakely and the other crew members, the USS St. Louis

17 evaded torpedoes and joined other vessels in the open

18 sea. When the USS St. Louis returned to Pearl Harbor

19 Reverend Blakely helped transport causalities and

20 other troops to San Francisco. The attack on Pearl

21 Harbor ended the same day it began, but it would

22 inform the rest of his life. And whereas later

23 during World War II Reverend Blakely served aboard

24 the USS President Jackson in major combat operations

25 in the Pacific Theater, including the battles of

1 STATED MEETING 8

2 Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, the Marshall Island, and Guam,

3 helping to transport troops to the battlefield and

4 evacuate the dead and wounded. And whereas in

5 October 1945, one month after the war ended, Reverend

6 Blakely was honorably discharged and began a new life

7 in New York City. For several years he worked as a

8 longshoreman in the docks under the Williamsburg

9 Bridge before accepting a maintenance position at

10 NYU. And whereas in the 75 year since World War II

11 Reverend Blakely has often shared his experience with

12 others, like his peers in the greatest generation, he

13 persevered through unprecedented and very difficult

14 years. Such perseverance is a testament to his

15 incredible strength of character and an inspiration

16 to others. Today at the age of 100 he deserves to be

17 celebrated [applause], at the age of 100 he deserves

18 to be celebrated not only for his longevity but also

19 for the tremendously positive impact he has had in so

20 many lives. He has truly earned the esteem of all

21 New Yorkers. Now therefore be it known that the New

22 York City Council gratefully honors Reverend James E.

23 Blakely and all other veterans of World War II

24 present in the chambers today for his and for their

25 extraordinary service and enduring contributions to

1 STATED MEETING 9

2 New York City and the nation. Corey Johnson, speaker

3 for the entire council, Laurie A. Cumbo, majority

4 leader, council member, 35th District, and many other

5 members of the New York City Council. [applause]

6 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Wow, what an

7 honor here today. We have two giants in our midst

8 today, and I wanted to know if anyone from either,

9 ah, Mr. Clibourne's family or Mr. Blakely's family

10 would like to speak on behalf of these two great

11 veterans that are here in our midst today.

12 REVEREND BLAKLEY: Yeah, I'm working on

13 my second one hundred, um-hmm. I [inaudible] yeah,

14 bring 'em on, boy. They didn't do anything but wake

15 up a sleeping giant [chuckles]. Yeah, God bless you

16 all.

17 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you.

18 [applause] Mr. Sowell, would you like to bring some

19 remarks?

20 CLIBOURNE SOWELL: [inaudible] seagoing

21 tub. I never saw the kind of action like he did.

22 But I was on my way to Pearl Harbor when the war hit,

23 so, ah, from ah, yeah, to Pearl Harbor. Then I was

24 sent to the and I was quite a few

25

1 STATED MEETING 10

2 places, and I never saw action like he did, yeah. I

3 was more on the home front. But I was there.

4 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Well, we...

5 CLIBOURNE SOWELL: Yeah, well, you just

6 take orders, that's all you did. So the places I

7 went, I'd take orders to go to this place and that

8 place, but I was only two [inaudible], just two,

9 [inaudible]. [applause]

10 REVEREND BLAKLEY: I want to tell you

11 what inspired me. That was the nurses, hospital

12 nurses, or whatever they are. And there was, there

13 were the airfield. They could have landed troops,

14 but they didn't know the damage they had done. From

15 that morning, Sunday morning, probably about five

16 minutes to eight until seven or eight o'clock in the

17 evening, I think they was probably recognizing the

18 planes coming back to see what damage they had done.

19 They had woke up a sleeping giant. [applause]

20 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: OK, that's OK.

21 Wow. And that really sums it up on so many levels.

22 But I want to say to both of you and to everyone in

23 the United States the minute you serve you express a

24 level of courageness and braveness that many of us at

25 home will never understand or know. So whatever role

1 STATED MEETING 11

2 you played in serving this country is a level of

3 courageousness that we honor and we respect, and we

4 simply love you. Thank you so much for all that you

5 have done. We are going to hear final words from Mr.

6 Sweat, who is going to speak on behalf of Mr. Blakely

7 as well and his family.

8 MR. SWEAT: The first thing I want to say

9 is give an honor to the highest in the world, the one

10 that created the world. And then I want to come done

11 to the world and honor those that are honoring these

12 two veterans, and that is thank you to the mayor's

13 office and all the dignitaries that are here today to

14 witness, to witness the oldest living veteran that is

15 a survivor of the Pearl Harbor. I want to say that

16 this is the reason why I became a veteran and many

17 other people of color serve these United States of

18 America, for our honor, for our respect, for our

19 dignity, and for our alliance to these country, this

20 country that we so diligently embodied, from the very

21 beginning of the United States Civil War which

22 elected us to come into the body of the Union Army as

23 soldiers, auxiliary, but soldiers. February 1863,

24 January Emancipation Proclamation was signed which

25 entitled us the rights. So from there we were born.

1 STATED MEETING 12

2 From the buffalo soldiers to the young Iraqi,

3 Afghanistan, Lebanon, Gulf warriors of today. We are

4 standing on these two gentlemen's back, and in

5 reality we're not even on your back, we're by your

6 side, and we' so proud because this is our dignity.

7 This is our respect. These are my fathers. These

8 are my daddies and yours too. I want to thank you.

9 Both of you. [applause]

10 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you so

11 much, and I want to thank on my staff, Arna and

12 Lauren and Jason, for making today possible, for

13 making sure this happened. Thank you so much. This

14 is really wonderful and so important. If we could

15 all come together and, and have a group photo that

16 would be wonderful, holding the proclamation. All of

17 the veterans here today please come forward. We

18 don't just honor you on Veterans Day, this is year

19 round, your service needs to be recognized. Ms.

20 Blakely? Thank you, thank you, and you are always

21 welcome at New York City Hall. [pause]

22 SERGEANT AT ARMS: Ladies and gentleman,

23 could I have your attention please. Could I please

24 have your attention, please. Quiet on the floor. At

25 this time please place all electronic devices, all

1 STATED MEETING 13

2 electronic devices to vibrate. Will all non-council

3 employees, non-council employees, please leave the

4 main floor of the chambers. We have additional

5 seating upstairs in the balcony. Thank you. Madam

6 Majority Leader.

7 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Good afternoon

8 and welcome to the Stated Meeting of January 23,

9 2020. I am Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo. For all of

10 those that can please rise for the Pledge of

11 Allegiance.

12 UNIDENTIFIED: All rise.

13 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: I pledge

14 allegiance to the flag of the United States of

15 America, and to the republic for which it stands, one

16 nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

17 justice for all. Roll call.

18 COUNCIL CLERK: Adams.

19 COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS: Very present.

20 COUNCIL CLERK: Ampry-Samuel.

21 COUNCIL MEMBER AMPRY-SAMUEL: Present.

22 COUNCIL CLERK: Ayala. Barron.

23 COUNCIL MEMBER BARRON: Present.

24 COUNCIL CLERK: Borelli. Brannan.

25 COUNCIL MEMBER BRANNAN: Here.

1 STATED MEETING 14

2 COUNCIL CLERK: Cabrera.

3 COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: Here.

4 COUNCIL CLERK: Chin.

5 COUNCIL MEMBER CHIN: Here.

6 COUNCIL CLERK: Cohen. Constantinides.

7 COUNCIL MEMBER CONSTANTINIDES: Present.

8 COUNCIL CLERK: Cornegy.

9 COUNCIL MEMBER CORNEGY: Here.

10 COUNCIL CLERK: Deutsch.

11 COUNCIL MEMBER DEUTSCH: Here.

12 COUNCIL CLERK: Diaz. Dromm.

13 COUNCIL MEMBER DROMM: Here.

14 COUNCIL CLERK: Espinal.

15 COUNCIL MEMBER ESPINAL: Here.

16 COUNCIL CLERK: Eugene. Gibson.

17 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Here.

18 COUNCIL CLERK: Gjonaj. Grodenchik.

19 COUNCIL MEMBER GRODENCHIK: Here.

20 COUNCIL CLERK: Ayala.

21 COUNCIL MEMBER AYALA: Here.

22 COUNCIL CLERK: Holden.

23 COUNCIL MEMBER HOLDEN:

24 COUNCIL CLERK: Kallos.

25 COUNCIL MEMBER KALLOS: Here.

1 STATED MEETING 15

2 COUNCIL CLERK: Koo. Cohen.

3 COUNCIL MEMBER COHEN: Here.

4 COUNCIL CLERK: Koo.

5 COUNCIL MEMBER KOO: Present.

6 COUNCIL CLERK: Koslowitz.

7 COUNCIL MEMBER KOSLOWITZ: Here.

8 COUNCIL CLERK: Lancman.

9 COUNCIL MEMBER LANCMAN: Here.

10 COUNCIL CLERK: Lander. Levin.

11 COUNCIL MEMBER LEVIN: Here.

12 COUNCIL CLERK: Levine.

13 COUNCIL MEMBER LEVINE: Here.

14 COUNCIL CLERK: Louis.

15 COUNCIL MEMBER LOUIS: Here.

16 COUNCIL CLERK: Maisel.

17 COUNCIL MEMBER MAISEL: Here.

18 COUNCIL CLERK: Menchaca.

19 COUNCIL MEMBER MENCHACA: Presente.

20 COUNCIL CLERK: Miller.

21 COUNCIL MEMBER MILLER: Present.

22 COUNCIL CLERK: Moya.

23 COUNCIL MEMBER MOYA: Present.

24 COUNCIL CLERK: Perkins.

25 COUNCIL MEMBER PERKINS: Here.

1 STATED MEETING 16

2 COUNCIL CLERK: Powers.

3 COUNCIL MEMBER POWERS: Here.

4 COUNCIL CLERK: Reynoso.

5 COUNCIL MEMBER REYNOSO: Here.

6 COUNCIL CLERK: Richards.

7 COUNCIL MEMBER RICHARDS: Present.

8 COUNCIL CLERK: Rivera.

9 COUNCIL MEMBER RIVERA: Present.

10 COUNCIL CLERK: Rodriguez. Rose.

11 Rosenthal.

12 COUNCIL MEMBER ROSENTHAL: Here.

13 COUNCIL CLERK: Salamanca. Torres.

14 Treyger.

15 COUNCIL MEMBER TREYGER: Here.

16 COUNCIL CLERK: Ulrich.

17 COUNCIL MEMBER ULRICH: Present.

18 COUNCIL CLERK: Vallone.

19 COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: Here.

20 COUNCIL CLERK: Van Bramer.

21 COUNCIL MEMBER VAN BRAMER: Here.

22 COUNCIL CLERK: Yeger.

23 COUNCIL MEMBER YEGER: Here.

24 COUNCIL CLERK: Matteo.

25 MINORITY LEADER MATTEO: Here.

1 STATED MEETING 17

2 COUNCIL CLERK: Cumbo.

3 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Present.

4 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Here.

5 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: We have a quorum.

6 We will now have today's invocation, which will be

7 delivered by Reverend Dr. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki,

8 spiritual leader of the Buddhist Council of New York,

9 located at 376 Broadway in Manhattan. For all those

10 can rise, please rise.

11 SERGEANT AT ARMS: All rise.

12 REVEREND NAKAGAKI: So first please stand

13 with both your feet steady. Let me read the

14 meditation. Relax your body. Close your eyes

15 lightly. Breathe out and then slowly breathe in. As

16 you exhale, let go of your worries, fear, anger, and

17 grief. Then as you inhale let love, light, life, and

18 luck come to you. As we celebrate the Lunar New Year

19 this weekend, let us remember that we that we must

20 keep our mind and spirit wholesome and fresh always.

21 When our mind is good our words and actions will

22 become good. This is the year 2020, which is two-

23 zero-two-zero, peace circle, peace circle. So let us

24 practice peace and let the circle of peace expand,

25 filling our society with love, lights, life, and

1 STATED MEETING 18

2 luck. As a Hiroshima Peace Ambassador and Nagasaki

3 Peace Correspondent, I would like to remind you that

4 this year marks the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima and

5 Nagasaki bombings, which were the result of inhumane

6 weapons of mass destruction, created here in New York

7 City during the Manhattan Project. I sincerely hope

8 and pray that through our actions and words we as New

9 Yorkers can start a new Manhattan Project of peace

10 from New York this year of double peace circles.

11 [speaking in unknown language] Amen. And thank you

12 very much, and peace to you all, and Happy New Year

13 to you all. Thank you.

14 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you. Thank

15 you so much, Dr. Nakagaki. We appreciate your

16 message of peace, certainly a wonderful to begin the

17 new year. And I'd like to now call on Council Member

18 Chin to spread the invocation on the record.

19 COUNCIL MEMBER CHIN: Thank you, Majority

20 Leader. I am proud to welcome Reverend Dr. Nakagaki,

21 the president of the Buddhist Council of New York,

22 founded in 1985 to foster dialogue, cooperation, and

23 unity within the Buddhist community in the New York

24 City area, as well as to organize events that promote

25 education, a Buddhist principle, and interfaith

1 STATED MEETING 19

2 dialogue. The council's home is at 376 Broadway,

3 right in the heart of my district. Thank you for

4 your work to promote peace, dialogue, and

5 understanding for all of our community. And as we

6 begin this new Lunar New Year and a new decade we

7 will dedicate ourselves to promote peace, kindness,

8 and fairness in our city. Thank you very much.

9 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you so

10 much, Council Member Chin.

11 COUNCIL MEMBER CHIN: I would like to

12 make a motion to spread the invocation in full upon

13 the record.

14 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you again,

15 Council Member Chin. We will now have the adoption

16 of minutes by Council Member Brannan.

17 COUNCIL MEMBER BRANNAN: I'd like to make

18 a motion that the minutes of the Stated Meeting of

19 December 10, 2019, be adopted as printed.

20 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Messages and

21 papers from the mayor.

22 COUNCIL CLERK: [clears throat] Excuse

23 me. M-205, city debt and reserves.

24 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Communication

25 from city, county, and borough offices.

1 STATED MEETING 20

2 COUNCIL CLERK: On M-205, Madam Majority

3 Leader, the received ordered printed and file. M-

4 206, TLC appointment.

5 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Petitions and

6 communications.

7 COUNCIL CLERK: OK, there are no

8 communications and no petitions or communications.

9 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Land use call-

10 ups.

11 COUNCIL CLERK: M-207 through M-209.

12 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Coupled on a call-up

13 vote. And at this time I'm asking for a roll call

14 vote and all of the items on today's land use

15 calender, this is just on the land use call-up

16 calendar.

17 COUNCIL CLERK: Adams.

18 COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS: Aye.

19 COUNCIL CLERK: Ampry-Samuel.

20 COUNCIL MEMBER AMPRY-SAMUEL: Aye.

21 COUNCIL CLERK: Ayala.

22 COUNCIL MEMBER AYALA: Aye.

23 COUNCIL CLERK: Barron.

24 COUNCIL MEMBER BARRON: I vote aye.

25 COUNCIL CLERK: Borelli.

1 STATED MEETING 21

2 COUNCIL MEMBER BORELLI: Aye.

3 COUNCIL CLERK: Brannan.

4 COUNCIL MEMBER BRANNAN: Aye.

5 COUNCIL CLERK: Cabrera.

6 COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: Aye.

7 COUNCIL CLERK: Chin.

8 COUNCIL MEMBER CHIN: Aye.

9 COUNCIL CLERK: Cohen.

10 COUNCIL MEMBER COHEN: Aye.

11 COUNCIL CLERK: Constantinides.

12 COUNCIL MEMBER CONSTANTINIDES: Aye.

13 COUNCIL CLERK: Cornegy.

14 COUNCIL MEMBER CORNEGY: Aye.

15 COUNCIL CLERK: Deutsch.

16 COUNCIL MEMBER DEUTSCH: Aye.

17 COUNCIL CLERK: Diaz. Dromm.

18 COUNCIL MEMBER DROMM: Aye.

19 COUNCIL CLERK: Espinal.

20 COUNCIL MEMBER ESPINAL: Aye.

21 COUNCIL CLERK: Eugene.

22 COUNCIL MEMBER EUGENE: Aye.

23 COUNCIL CLERK: Gibson.

24 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Aye.

25 COUNCIL CLERK: Gjonaj.

1 STATED MEETING 22

2 COUNCIL MEMBER GJONAJ: Aye.

3 COUNCIL CLERK: Grodenchik.

4 COUNCIL MEMBER GRODENCHIK: Aye.

5 COUNCIL CLERK: Holden.

6 COUNCIL MEMBER HOLDEN: Aye.

7 COUNCIL CLERK: Kallos.

8 COUNCIL MEMBER KALLOS: Aye.

9 COUNCIL CLERK: King. Koo.

10 COUNCIL MEMBER KOO: Aye.

11 COUNCIL CLERK: Koslowitz.

12 COUNCIL MEMBER KOSLOWITZ:

13 COUNCIL CLERK: Lancman.

14 COUNCIL MEMBER LANCMAN: Aye.

15 COUNCIL CLERK: Lander. Levin.

16 COUNCIL MEMBER LEVIN: Aye.

17 COUNCIL CLERK: Levine.

18 COUNCIL MEMBER LEVINE: Aye.

19 COUNCIL CLERK: Louis.

20 COUNCIL MEMBER LOUIS: Aye.

21 COUNCIL CLERK: Maisel. Menchaca.

22 COUNCIL MEMBER MENCHACA: Aye.

23 COUNCIL CLERK: Miller.

24 COUNCIL MEMBER MILLER: Aye.

25 COUNCIL CLERK: Moya.

1 STATED MEETING 23

2 COUNCIL MEMBER MOYA: Aye.

3 COUNCIL CLERK: Perkins.

4 COUNCIL MEMBER PERKINS: I vote aye.

5 COUNCIL CLERK: Powers.

6 COUNCIL MEMBER POWERS: Aye.

7 COUNCIL CLERK: Reynoso.

8 COUNCIL MEMBER REYNOSO: Aye.

9 COUNCIL CLERK: Richards.

10 COUNCIL MEMBER RICHARDS: Aye.

11 COUNCIL CLERK: Rivera.

12 COUNCIL MEMBER RIVERA: Aye.

13 COUNCIL CLERK: Rodriguez.

14 COUNCIL MEMBER RODRIGUEZ: Aye.

15 COUNCIL CLERK: Rose. Rosenthal.

16 COUNCIL MEMBER ROSENTHAL: Here, yes.

17 COUNCIL CLERK: Salamanca. Torres.

18 Treyger.

19 COUNCIL MEMBER TREYGER: Aye.

20 COUNCIL CLERK: Ulrich.

21 COUNCIL MEMBER ULRICH: I'd like to vote

22 yes on all land use call-ups and with your

23 permission, I'd ask for unanimous consent to vote yes

24 on all coupled general orders and items on the

25 calendar. I vote aye. Thank you.

1 STATED MEETING 24

2 COUNCIL CLERK: Vallone.

3 COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: Aye.

4 COUNCIL CLERK: Van Bramer.

5 COUNCIL MEMBER VAN BRAMER: Aye.

6 COUNCIL CLERK: Yeger.

7 COUNCIL MEMBER YEGER: Aye.

8 COUNCIL CLERK: Matteo. Cumbo.

9 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: I vote aye.

10 COUNCIL CLERK: Speaker Johnson.

11 SPEAKER JOHNSON: I vote aye.

12 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Today's land use

13 call-ups are adopted by a vote of 45 in the

14 affirmative and zero negative. We will now have

15 communication from Speaker Corey Johnson.

16 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Thank you, Madam

17 Majority Leader. Good afternoon. I want to thank

18 everyone for being here for today's Stated Meeting.

19 On Monday I joined many of you and fellow New Yorkers

20 to celebrate and honor the life, legacy, and impact

21 of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His work,

22 as we know, is clearly not done, especially here in

23 New York City. We have segregated schools, a soaring

24 homelessness population, and an affordability crisis

25 that makes this city a struggle for many, many of our

1 STATED MEETING 25

2 citizens. We must continue his fight for equality

3 and justice here in our city and whenever we see

4 oppression. I also want to acknowledge that

5 yesterday we marked the 47th anniversary of the Roe

6 v. Wade decision by the united States Supreme Court.

7 Unfortunately, the right to choose is being

8 challenged in too many places and we must ensure it

9 remains in place for each and every American, not

10 just for those who live in New York City or New York

11 State. And as we do at every Stated Meeting, we

12 remember those we have sadly and tragically lost to

13 9/11-related illnesses. I'm sorry to say that today

14 we have four First Responders to remember. NYPD

15 Sergeant James Bast and NYPD Detective Maureen

16 O'Flaherty were both lost to 9/11-related cancer.

17 Detective O'Flaherty passed away on November 28 of

18 last year, but it was just recently announced. She

19 was 57 years old. Sergeant Bast died at the age of

20 49 years old on January 14. We also lost Alfred Clay

21 Ludlum, who served with the National Guard on

22 September 11, and Richard Edward Hanrohan, who was an

23 EMT who served down at Ground Zero. If we could all

24 pause for a moment of silence for Sergeant Bast,

25 Detective O'Flaherty, Alfred Clay Ludlum, and Richard

1 STATED MEETING 26

2 Hanrohan. [moment of silence] Thank you. I'd also

3 like to acknowledge that Monday marks International

4 Holocaust Remembrance Day. We will be commemorating

5 the millions of lives that were lost during the

6 Holocaust. Monday also marks the 75th anniversary of

7 the liberation of Auschwitz. I know that Council

8 Member Espinal just got back from a trip to Poland,

9 where he visited. We mark these occasions knowing

10 that anti-Semitism is a cancer that is infecting many

11 countries around the world, including the United

12 States, and sadly even here in New York City we have

13 seen the cancer of anti-Semitism that has been

14 spreading. Today and every day we stand with Jewish

15 New Yorkers and Jewish people around the world

16 against hate and against anti-Semitism. As we

17 continue to mourn the memories of those lost we honor

18 those who have survived the Holocaust and we are, ah,

19 and who are with us still today, and we say never

20 forget, never again. We will also be voting on an

21 important resolution in just a few moments by Council

22 Member Deutsch that commemorates Internal Holocaust

23 Remembrance Day throughout the city and a resolution

24 that promotes Holocaust education because we know

25 education is the key. The council is also sadly

1 STATED MEETING 27

2 losing a member of our administrative services

3 division. Cheryl King Lawson, who we love, is

4 retiring after a long career here. We are so

5 grateful for her service and, is she here? Is she

6 with us? Is she with us today? I don't see that she

7 is. But I really want to thank Cheryl for her long

8 service to the City Council. We wish her the best.

9 [applause] I also want to congratulate two special

10 New Yorkers who are named in this year class of

11 Baseball Hall of Famers, Derek Jeter and Marvin

12 Miller. By any standard, Derek Jeter is one of the

13 most amazing baseball players in the world. He is

14 unanimously loved by Yankees' fans and anyone who

15 appreciates the game. I want to congratulate the

16 Captain and the Yankees. And lesser known, but

17 equally powerful in how he changed baseball was

18 Marvin Miller. Miller was a Bronx-born, Brooklyn-

19 bred union leader who was instrumental in creating

20 major league baseball's Players' Associations to

21 represent major league baseball players. He gave

22 players a sense of dignity and reminded them that

23 we're not there for the sport. They were people who

24 had rights and needed protection as well. He will be

25 honored posthumously in July with Derek Jeter. New

1 STATED MEETING 28

2 York is a union town and a baseball town and we're so

3 proud of both of these men and New Yorkers. Before

4 we dive into our legislative agenda, I want to just

5 put on the record and say a big thank-you to Andy

6 Byford, the president of New York City Transit, for

7 everything he has done [applause] for our city. It

8 may be one of the toughest jobs in the world, running

9 the subways and buses, and he did an outstanding,

10 outstanding, outstanding job. Any elected official

11 who worked with him would tell you that. He got to

12 know community leaders. He showed up at the hospital

13 or in courtrooms when transit workers were assaulted.

14 He worked well with union leaders. He worked well

15 with elected officials. He rode the subways and

16 buses every single day, wearing a name tag that said

17 Hello, my name is Andy Byford. In two years he has

18 turned the system around. It is a sad day that he is

19 leaving. Ah, he felt our pain as commuters and he

20 worked to make the system better, and so I am

21 grateful to Andy. We will miss you. And last, but

22 not least, a very happy Lunar New Year, in the Year

23 of the Rat, to all of those who will be celebrating

24 on Saturday. Now let's dive into our legislative

25 agenda. Out of the Finance Committee, the council

1 STATED MEETING 29

2 will vote on the following items. A preconsidered

3 resolution that will start the legislative process

4 for approving the extension and assessment increase

5 of the downtown Flushing BID in Council Member Peter

6 Koo's district. He's worked very hard on this, and

7 Peter, we're grateful for your hard work on this. I

8 know the people of Flushing are as well. We were

9 just at the wonderful, ah, Flushing Chinese Business

10 Association dinner just a couple of weeks ago, ah,

11 and I really want to thank you for your leadership on

12 this. We're also going to be voting on an Article 11

13 property tax exemption in my district at 319-321 West

14 38th Street, which will construct 11 new affordable

15 rental units. Moving on, the council will vote on

16 the following pieces of legislation. First, the

17 council will be voting on the resolution I just spoke

18 about by Council Member to honor the

19 Holocaust. To combat hate we need to educate. This

20 resolution is a step in that direction and so

21 important right now as we deal with this alarming

22 spate and crisis of anti-Semitic cancer that has

23 spread in our city. Preconsidered resolution 1225,

24 sponsored by Council Member Deutsch, will recognize

25 January 27, 2020, as Holocaust Remembrance Day, and

1 STATED MEETING 30

2 the week beginning on January 27, 2020 as a citywide

3 week of Holocaust education. I want to thank the

4 staff who worked on this, Balky Smerig, Leah

5 Scripiak, and Kevin Kotowski. Now, next we have a

6 piece from the Civil Service and Labor Committee, and

7 this is by our chair, Chair Daneek Miller,

8 Introduction 1785, a very important piece of

9 legislation. I want to congratulate you, Daneek, on

10 this really important bill, which will extend health

11 insurance coverage benefits to surviving family

12 members of deceased municipal employees who died as a

13 natural and proximate result of an accident or injury

14 sustained while performing duties for the city or who

15 died because of a condition related to the attack on

16 9/11. I want to thank the staff who worked on this,

17 Nuchat Chowdhury, Kevin Kotowski, and Kendall

18 Stevenson. Next, the council will vote on a

19 government operations piece of legislation by our

20 Government Operations chair, Fernando Cabrera.

21 Introduction 991, which will authorize the Office of

22 Administrative Trials and Hearings to dismiss a

23 violation enforced by the New York City Taxi and

24 Limousine Commission pertaining to a defective

25 vehicle light or lights. OATH may dismiss the

1 STATED MEETING 31

2 violation as long as the driver or owner has fixed

3 the light no later than one day after being issued a

4 violation and provided proof of correction, such as a

5 statement of correction issued by a state inspection

6 authority or auto repair shop, along with the TLC

7 summonses to the TLC, and I want to thank the staff,

8 Daniel Collins, Elizabeth Cronk, and Emily Forgione.

9 The council will also vote on a bill to protect

10 consumers who may want to pay in cash. Increasingly,

11 retail and food stores have refused to accept cash

12 and allow for only credit or debit transactions.

13 This practices punishes the under-banked. We don't

14 live in a one-size-fits-all city. Our economy needs

15 to be open to all New Yorkers. Introduction number

16 1281, sponsored by Council Member , who

17 has worked very hard on this for the last year, would

18 prohibit food and retail establishments from refusing

19 to accept cash from consumers. This bill would also

20 prohibit establishments from charging cash-paying

21 consumers a higher price than those using a credit or

22 debit card, and I want to thank the staff, Balky

23 Smerig and Lia Scripiak for their work on this.

24 Next, the council will vote on a bill to address the

25 lack of affordable diverse retail space and

1 STATED MEETING 32

2 prevalence of storefront vacancies in the city. The

3 rise in commercial rents and the increased presence

4 of large chain stores is felt most acutely by our

5 city's small businesses and the retail crisis we see

6 in empty storefronts across New York City. To

7 understand the problem of vacancies and challenges

8 faced by mom and pops, the council passed a series of

9 local laws last year to gather data on the city's

10 commercial retail environment. We will continue to

11 work on legislation to address small business

12 concerns and we have Introduction number 1408-B,

13 sponsored by Council Member , which

14 will require the city to conduct a neighborhood

15 retail needs assessment for sizable development

16 projects that receive significant financial

17 assistance from the city. Where a need is

18 determined, commercial space could be offered at

19 below-market rent to small businesses that meet such

20 needs for goods and services in the neighborhood, and

21 I want to the staff who worked on this, Stephanie

22 Jones and Noah Miksler. Finally, the council will be

23 voting on a package of legislation that aims to close

24 loopholes in our city's lead laws. Sadly, the days

25 of lead poisoning are not over in New York and it

1 STATED MEETING 33

2 should be, because lead poisoning is entirely

3 preventable. Although New York City banned the use

4 of lead paint in 1960, we are still seeing cases of

5 New Yorkers who are impacted by the effects of lead

6 in buildings. This is especially true of children

7 who are most at risk with problems associated with

8 lead. In 2018 nearly 4000 children, 4000 children,

9 were flagged for elevated blood lead levels. That is

10 unacceptable. That is why the council took immediate

11 action last March to pass 10 piece of lead-related

12 legislation designed to strengthen the city's Local

13 Law 1 of 2004 by our colleague, who has always been a

14 leader on this, Council Member Bill Perkins, who

15 deserves an enormous amount of credit for his

16 leadership. It's also known as the Childhood Lead

17 Poisoning Prevention Act. There is no safe lead

18 level and the following laws we hope keep pace with

19 the most up-to-date practices and standards to better

20 protect New York families, especially children. The

21 first bill, Introduction number 420-B, sponsored by

22 Council Member Costa Constantinides, will focus on

23 the issue of lead in our parks throughout New York

24 City. This bill would require the Parks Department

25 to test for lead concentration levels in areas of

1 STATED MEETING 34

2 parks under DPR jurisdiction that contain exposed

3 soil and are used for active play or passive

4 recreation whenever a capital project occurs in such

5 area. If the test finds that a bare soil area has a

6 lead level at or above the level set forth in Title

7 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, DPR must

8 cover, replace, or otherwise remediate the area. I

9 want to Christopher Sartori for his work on that

10 bill. The second bill, Introduction number 904-A,

11 sponsored by Council Member Carlina Rivera, targets

12 the issue of lead in pregnant persons. For pregnant

13 persons who test positive for an elevated blood lead

14 level the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

15 would be required to conduct an investigation to

16 identify the potential sources of their elevated

17 blood lead level. The bill would require the agency

18 to monitor the child after birth for elevated blood

19 lead levels and to proactively assess whether the

20 apartment where the child resides contains any lead

21 paint hazards or unsafe lead paint conditions. DOHMH

22 would also be required to conduct outreach to new and

23 expecting parents regarding the availability of

24 inspections for peeling paint or deteriorated

25 subsurface or underlying defects in their apartment

1 STATED MEETING 35

2 and to provide them with information about blood lead

3 testing for children, unsafe construction or

4 renovation work practices, and the availability of

5 inspections for such practices. I want to thank the

6 staff who worked on this, Zeamanuel Halu, Megan Chen,

7 Tizir Nasar, and Austin Branford. Next, Introduction

8 919-A, sponsored by Council Member Ritchie Torres,

9 would require that within five years of the bill's

10 effective date, or one year of a child moving in, a

11 thorough inspection of a dwelling unit be conducted

12 by an EPA-certified inspector and include a specified

13 inspection protocol. It would also require home

14 improvement contractors to show that they are EPA

15 certified to ensure they are prepared to follow lead-

16 based paint-related safety standards. Next,

17 Introduction number 891-A, sponsored by Council

18 Member Steve Levin, would expand the meaning of

19 multiple dwelling for the purposes of lead laws to

20 also include private dwellings where at least one

21 unit is not owner occupied. As currently drafted,

22 the requirements to investigate and remediate lead

23 hazards in dwellings only apply to multiple

24 dwellings, excluding certain smaller buildings where

25 residents may still be at risk of lead exposure.

1 STATED MEETING 36

2 This bill would result in the smaller buildings being

3 held to a similar standard, protecting more people.

4 And finally Introduction number 873-A, sponsored by

5 Council Member , would require schools

6 under the Department of Education jurisdiction to

7 conduct regular surveys and inspections of certain

8 spaces for lead paint, of lead-based paint hazards,

9 the results of which would be made publicly available

10 and delivered to parents and guardians. The bill

11 would also require HPD when conducting certain

12 inspections to determine whether there has been a

13 violation of the requirement to remediate lead

14 hazards when a unit turns over. Further, it would

15 establish a presumption that a building owner who is

16 unable to provide a record of having remediated lead

17 hazards at turnover has violated the requirement to

18 do so. I just want to reiterate for the council

19 members here and for anyone who may be watching the

20 staff at the City Council is the best staff. We have

21 the smartest lawyers and policy analysts, and Tirza

22 and Austin and Zay and Megan and Jeff and Laura and

23 everyone who worked on these bills have been working

24 on these bills for longer than two years. We did a

25 package a year ago. We're doing a package now.

1 STATED MEETING 37

2 They're working on another package. They have been

3 relentless in trying to protect the most number of

4 children possible in New York City by pushing the

5 envelope on these bills and the staff that has worked

6 on this, I want to, they don't know the number of

7 kids that they've protected through their incredible

8 hard work, and I want to give the staff here a round

9 of applause for their work on this lead paint package

10 that they've done [applause], the second package of

11 work in helping children across New York City. I

12 want to thank all of them. And with that, Madam

13 Majority Leader, I turn it back to you.

14 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you,

15 Speaker Corey Johnson. We'll now move into

16 discussion of general orders. As no members have

17 signed up, seeing none, report of special committees.

18 COUNCIL CLERK: None.

19 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Reports of

20 standing committees.

21 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the Committee

22 on Civil Service and Labor, Intro 1785, health

23 insurance.

24 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Coupled on general

25 orders.

1 STATED MEETING 38

2 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the Committee

3 on Consumer Affairs and Business Licensing, Intro

4 1281, cashless payments.

5 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Amended and coupled on

6 general orders.

7 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the Committee

8 on Environmental Protection, Intro 420-B, soil lead

9 testing.

10 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Amended and coupled on

11 general orders.

12 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the Committee

13 on Finance, preconsidered Reso 1227, Flushing BID.

14 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Coupled on general

15 orders.

16 COUNCIL CLERK: Preconsidered Reso 1220-

17 A, transparency resolution.

18 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Coupled on general

19 orders.

20 COUNCIL CLERK: Preconsidered LU 602 and

21 Reso 1232, tax exemption.

22 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Coupled on general

23 orders.

24

25

1 STATED MEETING 39

2 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the Committee

3 on Governmental Operations, Intro 991-C, OATH

4 violations.

5 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Amended and coupled on

6 general orders.

7 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the Committee

8 on Health, Intro 1904-A, lead in pregnant persons.

9 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Amended and coupled on

10 general orders.

11 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the Committee

12 on Housing and Buildings, Intros 873-a, 891-A, and

13 919-A, lead-based paint removal.

14 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Amended and coupled on

15 general orders.

16 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the Committee

17 on Small Business, Intro 1408-B, retail space.

18 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Amended and coupled on

19 general orders.

20 COUNCIL CLERK: On the general order

21 calendar, resolution appointing various persons,

22 Commissioner of Deeds.

23 SPEAKER JOHNSON: Coupled on general

24 orders. And at this time I'm asking for a roll call

25

1 STATED MEETING 40

2 vote on all of the items on today's general order

3 calendar.

4 COUNCIL CLERK: Adams.

5 COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS: With particular

6 congratulations to my colleague, I. Daneek Miller, on

7 the passage of Intro 1785, I vote aye on all.

8 COUNCIL CLERK: Ampry-Samuel.

9 COUNCIL MEMBER AMPRY-SAMUEL: Aye on all.

10 COUNCIL CLERK: Ayala.

11 COUNCIL MEMBER AYALA: Aye on all.

12 COUNCIL CLERK: Barron.

13 COUNCIL MEMBER BARRON: I vote aye on

14 all.

15 COUNCIL CLERK: Borelli.

16 COUNCIL MEMBER BORELLI: Aye on all,

17 except Intros 1281 and 1408.

18 COUNCIL CLERK: Brannan.

19 COUNCIL MEMBER BRANNAN: Aye.

20 COUNCIL CLERK: Cabrera.

21 COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: Permission to

22 explain my vote?

23 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Granted.

24 COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: I'll make it

25 really, really short, but I want us to, ah, remember

1 STATED MEETING 41

2 our fellow Puerto Ricans. I just got back from

3 Puerto Rico last week. Especially Guanica and the

4 surrounding towns, the areas were devastated.

5 They're still in need of help, ah, but especially

6 mental health, ah, chaplains and the sort, so let's

7 please remember them and I appreciate everyone who

8 supported my bill, 0991, to help our taxi drivers,

9 and my congratulations to all my colleagues. Thank

10 you so much.

11 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you.

12 COUNCIL CLERK: Chin.

13 COUNCIL MEMBER CHIN: I first wanted to,

14 um, wish everyone a happy and healthy Lunar New Year,

15 invite all of you to come down to my district to

16 celebrate, and I vote aye on all. Thank you.

17 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you.

18 COUNCIL CLERK: Cohen.

19 COUNCIL MEMBER COHEN: Aye.

20 COUNCIL CLERK: Constantinides.

21 COUNCIL MEMBER CONSTANTINIDES: Aye on

22 all.

23 COUNCIL CLERK: Cornegy.

24 COUNCIL MEMBER CORNEGY: Aye.

25 COUNCIL CLERK: Deutsch.

1 STATED MEETING 42

2 COUNCIL MEMBER DEUTSCH: Permission?

3 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Permission

4 granted.

5 COUNCIL MEMBER DEUTSCH: Thank you. Ah,

6 Reso 1225, ah, will for the second year in a row

7 acknowledge International Holocaust Remembrance Day

8 in New York City on January 27th. Additionally, it

9 will establish a citywide week of Holocaust

10 education, urging educators and parents to broach the

11 subject with their students and children. Growing up

12 as the son of Holocaust survivors it was ingrained my

13 identity that my parents had lived through

14 unimaginable horrors. Although, like many survivors,

15 they didn't often talk about specifics, their

16 experiences during the war had a significant impact

17 on our family. Knowledge of the atrocities that my

18 parents and millions of others suffered through is,

19 just a generation ago, is ever-present on my mind.

20 It is an extremely personal endeavor of mine to

21 ensure that our children, our grandchildren, and the

22 future generations never forget what happened during

23 the Holocaust. We all know the saying, those who did

24 not learn history are doomed to repeat. Baseless

25 hatred, unfounded bias, and anti-Semitism were all

1 STATED MEETING 43

2 factors in what eventually lead to a genocide of six

3 million Jews. As the generation that lived through

4 the war and is dwindling, and at a time when we are

5 seeing a rise in violent anti-Semitism, it is more

6 important than ever that we face this crisis head on.

7 We have a duty to ensure that young people are

8 knowledgeable about the Holocaust. If you want to

9 equip the next generation with tools they need to

10 fight bigotry and build a peaceful future, then we

11 need to educate them about the consequences of

12 prejudice and mistreating others. We cannot afford

13 to lose the memories of those who survived the

14 Holocaust. The lessons of the past are lessons for

15 the future. Thank you to my Jewish Caucus

16 colleagues, particularly Council Member Karen

17 Koslowitz, for their partnership on this legislation.

18 Thank you, Speaker Johnson, for your consistent

19 efforts to increase Holocaust education and fighting

20 anti-Semitism. Thank you.

21 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: How do you vote,

22 Council Member?

23 COUNCIL MEMBER DEUTSCH: Aye on all.

24 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you.

25 COUNCIL CLERK: Diaz. Dromm.

1 STATED MEETING 44

2 COUNCIL MEMBER DROMM: Aye.

3 COUNCIL CLERK: Espinal.

4 COUNCIL MEMBER ESPINAL: Permission to

5 explain my vote?

6 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Permission

7 granted.

8 COUNCIL MEMBER ESPINAL: Thank you.

9 We're voting today on Intro 1408, which will mandate

10 affordable rents for commercial space and affordable

11 housing developments. This legislation is a part of

12 a broader conversation around how to keep rents

13 affordable for small businesses in New York City.

14 Just as we have set-asides to address affordability

15 crisis for tenants, we must have set-asides to tackle

16 the growing vacancy crisis for small businesses.

17 When developers receive tax breaks for building

18 affordable housing they can still turn large profits

19 by renting out ground floor commercial space to big

20 box stores and chains, instead of our local mom and

21 pops. While a neighborhood may gain more affordable

22 units, the commercial spaces in these new

23 developments can lead to secondary displacement

24 because of the strain they create on local

25 businesses. Affordable housing developers have to

1 STATED MEETING 45

2 take a holistic approach to what their footprint in

3 the neighborhood is going to be. These developments

4 give opportunities for low and middle income

5 residents to stay put in their communities and should

6 be offering the same stability to small businesses.

7 In order to protect the integrity of our city we have

8 an obligation to protect all of those who contribute

9 to its rich cultural landscape. With that said, I

10 vote aye.

11 COUNCIL CLERK: Eugene.

12 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you.

13 COUNCIL CLERK: Eugene. Eugene.

14 COUNCIL MEMBER EUGENE: I vote aye.

15 COUNCIL CLERK: Gibson.

16 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: I vote aye on

17 all.

18 COUNCIL CLERK: Gjonaj.

19 COUNCIL MEMBER GJONAJ: Pass.

20 COUNCIL CLERK: Grodenchik.

21 COUNCIL MEMBER GRODENCHIK: I vote aye on

22 all, and I want to thank my colleague and the chair

23 of the Jewish Caucus, Chaim Deutsch, for his words

24 today. He is the son of survivors. Regrettably, in

25 my family there were none, except for the people who

1 STATED MEETING 46

2 lived already here in the United States. So we

3 remember the Holocaust and may the memory of the six

4 million always be for a blessing. With that, I vote

5 aye on all.

6 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you.

7 COUNCIL CLERK: Holden.

8 COUNCIL MEMBER HOLDEN: Aye on all.

9 COUNCIL CLERK: Kallos.

10 COUNCIL MEMBER KALLOS: Aye on all.

11 COUNCIL CLERK: King. Koo.

12 COUNCIL MEMBER KOO: Aye on all, and also

13 want to wish everyone a happy Lunar New Year. If you

14 have time, you can come to join our parade this

15 Saturday at 11:00 a.m. on Union Street, Flushing, of

16 Union and 37th Avenue. Thank you.

17 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you.

18 COUNCIL CLERK: Koslowitz.

19 COUNCIL MEMBER KOSLOWITZ: Aye.

20 COUNCIL CLERK: Lancman.

21 COUNCIL MEMBER LANCMAN: Aye.

22 COUNCIL CLERK: Lander. Levin.

23 COUNCIL MEMBER LEVIN: Permission to

24 explain my vote?

25

1 STATED MEETING 47

2 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Permission

3 granted.

4 COUNCIL MEMBER LEVIN: I want to thank

5 Speaker Johnson and my colleagues and all staff on

6 the lead legislation that we're passing today. I

7 want to acknowledge Council Member Bill Perkins for,

8 ah, for sponsoring the bill in 2004, which really

9 demonstrated that thoughtful and aggressive city

10 legislation out of this body can have a real impact.

11 Um, if you look at the data the key inflection point

12 over the last 25 years was in fact that legislation

13 in 2004, which changed how this city addresses lead

14 poisoning. Um, in fact, it followed on a prior

15 legislation from only five years earlier, but really,

16 um, changed the paradigm and what we're doing today

17 is building on that because, as the speaker said,

18 lead poisoning is entirely preventable. There's not

19 a single, there's no reason whatsoever why a child

20 should have lead exposure. Lead has been banned in

21 this city for 60 years and it's been banned

22 nationally for close to 40 years, or over 40 years.

23 So there's no reason in the world why a child should

24 be exposed to lead. It's some, every place that a

25 child is exposed to lead somebody is responsible for

1 STATED MEETING 48

2 cleaning that up. Somebody was responsible prior to

3 that lead poisoning for cleaning it up. So we're

4 here today to day that we're going to continue, this

5 body is going to continue until, um, lead poisoning

6 is eradicated here in New York City. I also want to

7 acknowledge my colleague, Chaim Deutsch, on his

8 resolution recognizing Holocaust Remembrance Day and

9 Holocaust Education in New York City Week. It is

10 vitally important that our young people understand

11 what happened in the Holocaust, see it in the context

12 of genocides throughout history, knowing that

13 genocides continue up until this day and, um, around

14 the world, and so, um, it is, it is, ah, it's

15 incredibly important that we do not, those of us that

16 don't know the past are doomed to repeat it. So we

17 must always continue to educate our children. Thank

18 you very much. I vote aye on all.

19 COUNCIL CLERK: Levine.

20 COUNCIL MEMBER LEVINE: I vote aye on

21 all.

22 COUNCIL CLERK: Louis.

23 COUNCIL MEMBER LOUIS: Aye on all.

24 COUNCIL CLERK: Maisel.

25 COUNCIL MEMBER MAISEL: Yes.

1 STATED MEETING 49

2 COUNCIL CLERK: Menchaca.

3 COUNCIL MEMBER MENCHACA: Aye.

4 COUNCIL CLERK: Miller.

5 COUNCIL MEMBER MILLER: Permission to

6 explain my vote, please?

7 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Permission

8 granted.

9 COUNCIL MEMBER MILLER: Thank you, Madam

10 Majority Leader. Madam Majority Leader, Dr. King

11 said that all labor that uplifts humanity has dignity

12 and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

13 1785 is how we honor this excellence. Intro 1785 is

14 how this city demonstrates its value and how we as a

15 city value the service of every single one of our

16 municipal employees, particularly the brave civilian

17 responders who answered the call of 9/11.

18 Introduction 1785 extends health insurance benefits

19 to the spouse and children of any municipal employee

20 killed while performing their duties. It also

21 recognizes the heroic efforts of civilian workers who

22 answered the call on 9/11 by providing health

23 benefits to the families should they contract a

24 condition developed as a result of the loss of their

25 loved ones from 9/11. The passage of this bill is a

1 STATED MEETING 50

2 big win for the dedicated municipal work force that

3 makes the city run each and every day and it assures

4 that all of our dedicated civilian civil servants

5 will have the peace of mind that they richly deserve

6 by knowing that their families will be cared for and

7 provided the health insurance and it will endure if

8 the tragedy should strike in the course of their

9 duty. I'd like to thank Speaker Johnson, um, my

10 colleagues for voting on this, and the members of the

11 Civil Service and Labor team, Malcolm, Nizak,

12 Kendall, Kevin, and Brandon. Thank you so much, and

13 I implore my colleagues to vote yes.

14 COUNCIL CLERK: Moya.

15 COUNCIL MEMBER MOYA: Aye.

16 COUNCIL CLERK: Perkins.

17 COUNCIL MEMBER PERKINS: I want to vote

18 aye on all, and also express appreciate for the

19 Speaker recognizing the horror of lead paint

20 poisoning in our communities and look forward to

21 continuing to work with him and my colleagues and

22 this council to make sure that all our children and

23 families are safe from that tragic experience that so

24 many have experienced. Thank you.

25 COUNCIL CLERK: Miller.

1 STATED MEETING 51

2 COUNCIL MEMBER MILLER: Aye.

3 COUNCIL CLERK: Powers.

4 COUNCIL MEMBER POWERS: Aye.

5 COUNCIL CLERK: Reynoso. Richards.

6 COUNCIL MEMBER RICHARDS: Aye.

7 COUNCIL CLERK: Rivera.

8 COUNCIL MEMBER RIVERA: Permission to

9 explain my vote?

10 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Permission

11 granted.

12 COUNCIL MEMBER RIVERA: Just want to

13 thank, um, everyone for their support as we are

14 approving and voting on these next lead bills. It's

15 shocking that in 2020 children and families in New

16 York City are still being exposed to poisonous levels

17 of lead, but this council has taken real leadership

18 to combat this failure with passing bill after bill,

19 and I'm so thankful to the speaker, to the staff

20 here, especially, ah, Zay, to Jason Goldman, to my

21 legislative director, Jeremy Unger, and as co-chair

22 of the Women's Caucus I'm proud that we're voting on

23 this bill that will ensure that the city conducts

24 thorough investigations when pregnant mothers test

25 positive. I am looking forward to a lead-free NYC.

1 STATED MEETING 52

2 And congratulations to all my colleagues with bills

3 in this package as well, and to the many others that

4 we'll be passing today. Thank you so much. I vote

5 aye on all.

6 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you.

7 COUNCIL CLERK: Rodriguez.

8 COUNCIL MEMBER RODRIGUEZ: I will get

9 back.

10 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: You'll pass.

11 COUNCIL CLERK: Rose. Rosenthal.

12 COUNCIL MEMBER ROSENTHAL: Um, with

13 gratitude to my colleagues, Council Member Chin and

14 Council Member Koo, for, ah, the very, um, delicious

15 way of celebrating the Chinese New York. Thank you

16 for that. And congratulations to all my colleagues

17 with the lead bills, extraordinary, to Council Member

18 Rivera and others, and also with gratitude to my

19 colleague, Council Member Torres, for his bill on,

20 um, ah, no longer, ah, allowing cashless food

21 establishments. I appreciate his work on that. So

22 with that I still vote aye on all.

23 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you.

24 COUNCIL CLERK: Salamanca. Torres.

25 COUNCIL MEMBER TORRES: Aye on all.

1 STATED MEETING 53

2 COUNCIL CLERK: Treyger.

3 COUNCIL MEMBER TREYGER: Permission to

4 explain my vote?

5 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Permission

6 granted.

7 COUNCIL MEMBER TREYGER: Ah, so, just

8 building on comments by Council Member Rosenthal to

9 commend the leadership of Council Member Chin and Koo

10 as well, not just for the celebration we have the in

11 council for the Lunar New Year, but I remember when I

12 was still a teacher and we had a policy in place

13 where I had to mark students absent for observing

14 their holiday, and thanks to leaders like council

15 members Chin and Koo, ah, we now have an official

16 holiday for schools on the Lunar New Year, and I just

17 want to publicly say that and thank them for their

18 leadership and for their support. Also, on the issue

19 of lead, it was this council that stood up and

20 demanded that not just certain classrooms, but common

21 spaces in schools were tested as well, so this

22 council will be very proud on its record of

23 protecting children in the City of New York, and to

24 my colleague, Council Member Torres, who continues to

25 speak up for the voiceless and continues to make sure

1 STATED MEETING 54

2 that all people are heard N I just commend him and

3 all my colleagues on their bills. And with that I

4 vote aye.

5 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you.

6 COUNCIL CLERK: Vallone.

7 COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: Aye on all.

8 COUNCIL CLERK: Van Bramer. Yeger.

9 COUNCIL MEMBER YEGER: May I be excused

10 to explain my vote?

11 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Permission

12 granted.

13 COUNCIL MEMBER YEGER: Thank you, Madam

14 Majority Leader.

15 COUNCIL MEMBER YEGER: Thank you, Madam

16 President. Today we are voting on Intro 1281, ah,

17 and I agree with some of the aspects of what the bill

18 intends to accomplish. I don't think any store

19 anywhere in the United States should refuse to accept

20 American currency. I also don't think that it's our

21 job to tell businesses in the city how to run. And I

22 really don't know what it is that we think happened

23 when we were loaned the titles that by the people

24 that we represent that makes us think that we have

25 the right to tell businesses how to run on matters

1 STATED MEETING 55

2 not related to public health, public safety, but

3 simply our own preference for what we think is smart

4 or right or fair, or nondiscriminatory. For example,

5 I like Coca-Cola. Many people do. I walk into a

6 store, they only sell Pepsi. Are we going to rely,

7 are we going to require that they now carry Coke?

8 Walk into a restaurant, they don't have butter on the

9 table. Am I going to require that they do? Or what

10 if they only have butter on table? Are we going to

11 make sure that we take care of those who can't take

12 lactose and have margarine instead? We're inserting

13 ourselves into the business of business in a way that

14 we don't have the right to do, in my opinion,

15 although obviously based on the vote tally there are

16 a number of people here who believe otherwise. But I

17 also want to, in the last couple of seconds that I

18 have, point out that the first penalty imposed on a

19 business that fails to comply with this law is no

20 more than $1000. The second penalty and thereafter

21 is $1500. So, as we know, the City of New York never

22 weaponizes our statutes. They surely will never take

23 one of our statutes and walk around the city looking

24 for businesses that aren't complying so that they can

25 slam them with a $1000 ticket just for walking in the

1 STATED MEETING 56

2 door. And I look forward to 10 months from now, one

3 money after the nine months, when we start getting

4 the calls from the businesses that are getting

5 slammed with these summonses. With that, Madam

6 President, I vote aye on all, with the exception of

7 Intro 1281. Thank you.

8 COUNCIL CLERK: Van Bramer.

9 COUNCIL MEMBER VAN BRAMER: Aye on all.

10 COUNCIL CLERK: Matteo.

11 MINORITY LEADER MATTEO: No on 1408, no

12 on 1281, and permission to vote yes on all land use

13 call-ups. Thank you.

14 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Permission

15 granted.

16 COUNCIL CLERK: Gjonaj.

17 COUNCIL MEMBER GJONAJ: Permission to

18 explain my vote?

19 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Permission

20 granted.

21 COUNCIL MEMBER GJONAJ: First, I want to

22 congratulate Council Members Chin and Koo and wishing

23 all a happy Lunar New Year. I also remind all of my

24 colleagues that we must keep the people of Puerto

25 Rico in our hearts and prayers. They're still

1 STATED MEETING 57

2 recovering from the hurricane and now to be faced

3 with a second natural disaster, um, the people of

4 Puerto Rico need our help and our assistance and I

5 hope that we will rise to the occasion again by

6 opening our doors for those that are seeking relief

7 here in the City of New York. I want to congratulate

8 Council Member Chaim Deutsch on the remembrance of

9 the Holocaust. We need to be reminded of this, to

10 never allow it to happen again. So to the Jewish

11 community, we will always remember the tragedies and

12 the atrocities that were committed against you. As

13 we move forward to a lead-free New York City, I am

14 pleased to see that we have not excluded NYCHA from

15 this requirement. NYCHA is the single-largest

16 landlord and we have more children that are being

17 poisoned by lead paint in NYCHA facilities than any

18 other properties out there. So I am not only pleased

19 to see that they're included and going to be held to

20 the same standard and accountability as we protect

21 all of our children, but most importantly the most

22 vulnerable and those are the residents of NYCHA

23 facilities. I echo some of the concerns of 20, 1281-

24 A, and not that the intentions are not good. But the

25 penalty that these small businesses are always

1 STATED MEETING 58

2 subject to for not complying with rules they may not

3 be aware of, and I caution my colleagues in trying to

4 do good that we often find ourselves punishing and

5 penalizing the very groups that we're looking to

6 protect, and that's our small businesses. So I do

7 support 1281 in the intentions. I just remind all of

8 the penalties associated and we should further give

9 warning before we give punishment or fines. So I

10 vote all on aye.

11 COUNCIL CLERK: Rodriguez.

12 COUNCIL MEMBER RODRIGUEZ: Permission to

13 explain my vote?

14 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Permission

15 granted.

16 COUNCIL MEMBER RODRIGUEZ: First of all,

17 thank you Council Member Bill Perkins for being a

18 pioneer on what we are extending today, the removal

19 of lead paint. I remember being an activist, not a

20 Council Member, and being here at this step facing a

21 lot of opposition from real estate, having the

22 lawyers and other Manhattan Improvement Corporation

23 that worked with you and the council at that time to

24 draft a bill to remove lead paint from residential

25 building. Now we are extending what you started, and

1 STATED MEETING 59

2 I feel that we have the big responsibility to also

3 make NYCHA accountable for the removal of the lead

4 paint to be done by professionals, to be done by

5 professionals. We did it when we include the law

6 that made HPD, they made everyone who do removal of

7 lead paint from residential being done by

8 professional. But we didn't use the same language on

9 the NYCHA part. So we need to be sure that when lead

10 is identified in any NYCHA apartments those worker

11 has to be trained or retrained to be sure that

12 they're doing a proper job. So let's continue

13 expanding that requirement for all lead paint to be

14 removed by professional, and with that I vote aye.

15 COUNCIL CLERK: Cumbo. I vote aye.

16 COUNCIL CLERK: Speaker Johnson.

17 SPEAKER JOHNSON: I vote aye.

18 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you. All

19 items on today's general order calendar are adopted

20 by a vote of 46 in the affirmative, zero negative,

21 and zero abstentions. With the exception of Intro

22 1281-A, which was adopted by a vote of 43 in the

23 affirmative, 3 negative, and zero abstentions. And

24 Intro 1408-B, which was adopted by a vote of 44 in

25 the affirmative, 2 negative, and zero abstentions.

1 STATED MEETING 60

2 The revised land use call-ups vote 46 in the

3 affirmative and zero negative. Introduction and

4 reading of bills.

5 SPEAKER JOHNSON: All bills have been

6 referred to committees, as indicated on today's

7 agenda.

8 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you. We

9 will now move into the discussion of resolutions. If

10 members have signed up to discuss today's resolutions

11 we will call on them at this time. Members have

12 yielded their time for the resolutions and now I will

13 go right into reading today's resolution into the

14 record. Members who wish to vote against or abstain

15 on today's resolution should register your vote with

16 the clerks at the dais. Preconsidered resolution

17 1225, resolution recognizing January 27, 2020, as

18 Holocaust Remembrance Day and the week beginning on

19 January 27, 2020, as a citywide of Holocaust

20 education in New York City. All in favor say aye.

21 [chorus of ayes]

22 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: All opposed.

23 Abstentions. The ayes have it. We will now move

24 into general discussion, and we will begin with

25 Council Member Torres.

1 STATED MEETING 61

2 COUNCIL MEMBER TORRES: Thank you, Madam

3 Majority Leader. I just want to respond to the

4 comments from my colleague, Council Member Treyger,

5 Yeger, I'm sorry. There is a huge difference.

6 First, I think the notion of questioning government's

7 right to regulate business is just simply an

8 absurdity. There are regulations of business at

9 every level. I would encourage my colleague to

10 familiarize himself with the modern administrative

11 state. The question is is the regulation in question

12 have a rational basis? Is it arbitrary and

13 capricious? The fact is here in New York City There

14 are 780,000 people who are under-banked, right.

15 There are hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who

16 have no bank accounts, who have no access to debit or

17 credit and therefore have no means of purchasing

18 goods and services in an increasingly cashless

19 marketplace. And so insuring that those vulnerable

20 New Yorkers have access to goods and services in a

21 marketplace, in public accommodations, is a

22 legitimate policy goal. I will confess to you, it is

23 an expression of my policy preferences, because

24 that's what we do in our society. Most of the laws

25 we enact are an expression of our policy preferences

1 STATED MEETING 62

2 and our values, so I'm, I'm quite confused by what I

3 took to be just an attack on my integrity as a

4 legislator. This was a good-faith attempt to ensure

5 that more people have access to goods and services

6 and this bill was carefully crafted. If there were

7 businesses that have grown accustomed to a cashless

8 business model, we allow those businesses the option

9 of installing a cash conversion machine so that they

10 can contain to retain the efficiency benefits that

11 come with a cashless business model. So this was

12 carefully crafted. This bill strikes a thoughtful

13 balance between equity and efficiency. And I stand

14 by it, so thank you.

15 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you,

16 Council Member Torres. We will go to Council Member

17 Koo.

18 COUNCIL MEMBER KOO: Thank you, Majority

19 Leader. Today I am introducing a resolution, Reso

20 1229, calling the federal government to pass the

21 Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019. This bill will

22 close a loophole in the Trial Citizenship Act of 2000

23 that prevents international, internationally adopted

24 children from receiving US citizenship, despite being

25 legally adopted by US citizens. This issue concerns

1 STATED MEETING 63

2 adoptees from all countries in America, and in

3 particular those from Korea, as they account for one

4 of the largest internationally adoptive groups in

5 this country. Many adoptees who grew up in America

6 homes, in American families, never even knew they

7 weren't American citizens until they applied for a

8 job. Then, to add insult to injury, many learned

9 they could even be deported. Indeed, many have been

10 deported. Often the reasoning behind the lack of

11 status are simple oversights or missing documents.

12 And while the government attempted to rectify this

13 issue in the past, it left out those children who had

14 already turned 18 by the time the law went into

15 effect. Simply put, we need to put an end to this

16 injustice. I ask my colleagues to join me in

17 supporting this resolution calling for the passage of

18 the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2017 so that we can

19 finally give our adopted Americans the support

20 citizenship they deserve. We have in our presence

21 Ms. [Mijin] Kim. He is president of New Zealand

22 Korean American Heritage and he is also, she is also

23 a former president of Korean American Association of

24 Greater New York. Thank you.

25

1 STATED MEETING 64

2 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you so

3 much. We'll now hear from Council Members Barron,

4 followed by Rodriguez, followed by Eugene.

5 COUNCIL MEMBER BARRON: Ah, thank you,

6 Madam Majority Leader. As has been mentioned, we did

7 celebrate what would have been the 95th, 91st

8 birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King and just to call

9 attention of some of his legacy. It was in 1962 that

10 Dr. King was labeled by the FBI as the most dangerous

11 man in America, and then in 1967 following his

12 pronouncements against the war in Vietnam he was

13 ostracized and said that he felt betrayed by many of

14 the leaders, including some within his own circle.

15 But today, of course, with hindsight, ah, and those

16 who are engaged in the battle for social justice and

17 civil rights we see Dr. King as a man of commitment,

18 conviction, and courage. He was a visionary, not

19 just a dreamer. He was a visionary who thought of

20 matters beyond the immediacy of his own initial

21 advocacy and dared to venture beyond the local and

22 national injustices to this day and to speak out

23 against the evil tentacles of militarism that

24 perpetrated, ah, that are perpetrated by the United

25 States and claim the lives of innocent people in

1 STATED MEETING 65

2 foreign lands. And one of his quotes that is most

3 precious to me is the one that says that the function

4 of education is to teach one to think intensively and

5 to think critically. And he says that intelligence

6 plus character, that is the goal of education. And

7 that gives me a segue into calling attention to the

8 centennial celebration of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, an

9 international black sorority, founded at Howard

10 University in 1920, original founders, as has been

11 cited by my colleague previously, um, Cornegy, who

12 mentioned them in a plaque that he presented, were

13 Arizona Cleaver, Pearl N. Neil, Myrtle Tyler, Viola

14 Taylor, and Fanny Petty. And they are based on the

15 principles of scholarship, service, sisterhood, and

16 final womanhood, and they are a progressive

17 organization that seeks to address the ills of

18 poverty and prejudice. And I'm proud to say that as

19 an undergrad I did pledge Zeta Phi Beta Sorority.

20 Thank you.

21 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Congratulations,

22 Council Member Barron. And I would now like to call

23 on Council Members Rodriguez, Eugene, Levin, and then

24 Menchaca.

25

1 STATED MEETING 66

2 COUNCIL MEMBER RODRIGUEZ: Thank you,

3 Majority Leader. First of all, thank you to all to

4 colleagues that become co-prime of the municipal

5 voting rights bill. They are Council Member

6 Menchaca, Dromm, Espinal, Cabrera, Chin, Cohen,

7 Kallos, Miller, Van Bramer, Levin, Reynoso, Rivera,

8 [inaudible] Lander, Cornegy, Adams, Ampry-Samuel,

9 Levin, Louis, Powers, Rosenthal, Diaz, Cumbo, Eugene.

10 Public Advocate, Miller, also supported by the

11 Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Manhattan

12 Borough President Gail Brewer, as also Council Member

13 Perkin, Council Member Richards, Council Member

14 Constantinides, Council Member Torres. The US, when

15 we look at the, according to the US called Title 18

16 it say Section 61, Section 611 say voting by aliens,

17 noncitizens, are authorized to vote in local election

18 if allowed by state. However, no citizens are barred

19 from voting in the following office: Presidents,

20 vice presidents, US Senate, US House of

21 Representatives. I lived from '83 to 2000 with a

22 green card. I washed dishes. I drove a taxi. I

23 worked in a factory. I became a teacher in '93. I

24 taught hundreds of students. I was a co-founder in

25 school. I helped many election, many candidates,

1 STATED MEETING 67

2 from David Dinkins to Assemblyman [inaudible] to

3 Council Member [Linades]. I contribute. I pay

4 taxes. As I, as I lived those year from '83 to today

5 there's close to one million New Yorkers who pay

6 taxes that deserve to have the right to elect their

7 citywide leaders. Thank you, everyone. I'm very

8 proud the [broad] coalition that we have, NAACP, the

9 National Justice, Immigration Coalition, 43 groups,

10 and all of us together. Thank you.

11 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you,

12 Council Member Rodriguez. Now we have Council Member

13 Eugene, Levin, Menchaca, and Yeger.

14 COUNCIL MEMBER EUGENE: Thank you very

15 much, Madam Majority Leader. I would like to speak

16 about Intro 1858, calling on the, for the

17 Administration Code of the New York City to be

18 admitted in relation to sign that are posted at the

19 entrance of New York City park to ensure that they

20 are visible at night. As I speak today, there are

21 large number of honest and hard-working New Yorkers

22 that are issued summons for being on city park land

23 after closing hours. In many instances the people

24 who are issued the summons were unaware of the park

25 hours due to the sign not being visible in the

1 STATED MEETING 68

2 evening hours. Anyone visiting a city park knows all

3 too well that many park do not have operating hours

4 that are posted prominently and that, the warning is

5 difficult, if not impossible, to read at night.

6 Making matters even more difficult and confusing for

7 park visitor is the fact that the hours are of

8 operation are not uniform. The revised

9 Administration Code should clearly make certain that

10 park hours be displayed in luminous lettering and

11 posted in such a manner that someone approach the

12 park sign will immediately see them clearly. It

13 greatly troubles me everything that one of my

14 constituent inform me of being issued a summons for

15 unknowingly being in the park after hours. We have a

16 large number of residents who struggle to make end me

17 in New York City. And many of them, the same people,

18 receive summons for violating a posting that they

19 couldn't see. I ask my colleagues to support this

20 legislation. Thank you very much, Madam Majority

21 Leader. Thank you.

22 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you.

23 Council Member Levin.

24 COUNCIL MEMBER LEVIN: Ah, thank you,

25 Madam Majority Leader. Ah, I just wanted to follow

1 STATED MEETING 69

2 up on the speaker's remarks about Andy Byford and how

3 effective he's been over these last couple of years

4 in, um, in directing New York City transit. Um, I

5 know, as I said in the pre-Stated press conference, I

6 take the 7 train every morning, which was one train

7 that had the signal upgrades done and I rarely wait

8 more than a minute or two on the platform before the

9 train arrives. Um, I also want to acknowledge Jimmy

10 Van Bramer for, ah, and other council members for

11 advocating for that to happen. But, um, it do hope

12 that the MTA and New York City Transit are able to

13 effectively carry out the plan that Andy Byford has

14 helped develop. And with regard to 1281, um, I just

15 want to ah, associate myself with the comments of

16 Council Member Ritchie Torres on, um, on the validity

17 of this legislation. Um, you know, there are, ah, as

18 he said, 700,000 New Yorkers that are under-banked.

19 Um, they don't have access to a debit card. They

20 don't have access to a credit card. Um, perhaps we

21 should be doing more at the city level to get more

22 people banked. But there are still going to be tens,

23 if not hundreds, of thousands of New Yorkers that

24 won't have access to that. Um, we have a

25 responsibility in this legislative body to make sure

1 STATED MEETING 70

2 that they have access to all the goods and services

3 that anybody else has access to. Um, and, ah, if

4 they currently don't have access to those goods and

5 services, um, then that is, ah, ah, that is a, that

6 is a shame and it's, and it's something that we have

7 every responsibility to correct. Um, so I don't see

8 it as an undue intrusion of government. It is just

9 ensuring that people have a fair shot at all the

10 goods and services offered in this city. Thank you.

11 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you.

12 Council Member Menchaca, finally, and then Council

13 Member Yeger.

14 COUNCIL MEMBER MENCHACA: Thank you. I

15 want to continue and start right off where Council

16 Member Levin spoke to the bill around cash, really

17 access for cash opportunities at retail stores and

18 say that there are multiple pieces to this that we

19 have to consider. Ah, I want to second everything

20 that was said by Council Member, ah, the chief

21 sponsor, Torres. What I also want to remind people

22 that this conversation and what this bill did was

23 also lift up conversations around surveillance, that

24 each of these cards, and anytime you go and purchase

25 anything on a credit card or anything with a

1 STATED MEETING 71

2 technology, a financial technology chip, ah, that

3 data continues to be collected by many different

4 companies. That conversation is connected to

5 something that we all know here around, ah, financial

6 technology chip on IDNYC. We're in the middle of

7 those conversations. The Mayor's Office continues to

8 push, ah, other allies and the unions to bring a

9 financial technology chip to IDNYC. I am against

10 that, and many of you and my colleagues are. But

11 that, that's a conversation that also needs to be had

12 when we talk about cash, ah, the cash economy. Next,

13 I want to talk about 1867, ah, and Council Member

14 Rodriguez, my co-prime sponsor on this bill, ah, and

15 I and so many of you are also in support of restoring

16 the rights of our community members, green card

17 holders and folks who have work authorization to

18 participate in our democracy, and so I hope you can

19 all join in this conversation. This is gonna be a

20 complicated conversation to restore those rights and

21 to allow for our city to embed that voice into our

22 municipal elections. And this is a game-changer for

23 us. We've seen so much of that already in

24 participatory budgeting. All or a majority of those

25 have been cast in non-English ballots. That's what

1 STATED MEETING 72

2 we're talking about. That's what we need to do.

3 Let's do this together. I can't wait. Thank you.

4 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you, and

5 finally Council Member Yeger.

6 COUNCIL MEMBER YEGER: Thank you, Madam

7 President. I want to be very clear for the gentleman

8 who may have been confused. First of all, I

9 appreciate the gentleman's suggestion that I

10 available myself of the opportunity to study law.

11 Thank you for that. And secondly, no integrity was

12 attacked here today, and if he thinks otherwise he

13 ought to review the tape of my remarks. We are

14 imposing a penalty on businesses that fail to comply

15 of up to $1000 a summons on the first go-around. The

16 first time they get smacked with a summons is going

17 to be up to $100. I think we all know that up to

18 means $1000, because that's the way the city does it.

19 So they're gonna look for a new revenue stream.

20 They're gonna find and it's gonna be in the pockets

21 of the small businesses that are making business

22 decisions right now that they choose to accept credit

23 cards and not cash. Are there legitimate reasons for

24 why businesses make that choice? Sure. Do I want

25 businesses to take cash and not to refuse it?

1 STATED MEETING 73

2 Absolutely. I think it's wrong and I think it's

3 dumb. But if they're making the choice, they're

4 making the choice. I'm not assuming that we never

5 regulate business. But, as I said before, there's a

6 good population of the United States, of the world,

7 that is lactose-intolerant. Should every restaurant

8 that offers butter on the table now be forced to put

9 margarine next to it? Is that a requirement so that

10 we are not discriminating against those who can't

11 tolerate lactose. Where does it stop? At what point

12 do we say this is that important, OK, that's where it

13 stops, we're not going any further. It's just on the

14 cash. Should we be changing the tablecloths in

15 restaurants from color to only white so as to not

16 discriminate against those who are color-blind? At

17 what point do we say we're not going to regulate

18 businesses to the point where we are stepping on

19 their throats, as I believe we're doing today. And

20 that's my point. And thank you very much, Madam

21 President.

22 MAJORITY LEADER CUMBO: Thank you. The

23 revised land use call-up vote is now 47 in the

24 affirmative and zero negative. And we will now have

25 closing remarks by Speaker Corey Johnson.

1 STATED MEETING 74

2 SPEAKER JOHNSON: The Stated Meeting of

3 January 23, 2020, is hereby adjourned. Thank you.

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C E R T I F I C A T E

World Wide Dictation certifies that the foregoing transcript is a true and accurate record of the proceedings. We further certify that there is no relation to any of the parties to this action by blood or marriage, and that there is interest in the outcome of this matter.

Date ____February 2, 2020______